Square Co., Ltd. has announced that Legend of Mana (LoM) will be made into an anime as part of a project to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the popular Secret of Mana series! The title is Secret of Mana LoM The Teardrop Crystal, and it is based on one of the three major scenarios in LoM, the Jewel Thief Arc. The Jewel Thief Arc tells the story of a race of jewel thieves who are after the lives of the jewel thieves, and today we would like to introduce the jewel thieves and the Jewel Thief Arc!
First, an introduction to Legend of Mana (LoM)!
LoM is a title released by Square on July 15, 1999. It is an action RPG like the previous Secret of Mana series, but this work is not a one-way scenario like the previous works, but a so-called free scenario RPG. It is characterized by a mysterious world view like a picture book and a more fantasy world view with many non-human races. It is a work that still has a strong popularity, and a remastered version has been distributed recently.
Memories of LoM
Square games from that time often came with trial versions, such as SaGa Frontier 2 and Final Fantasy Tactics, and LoM also came with trial versions of other new games. There was a trial version included as SQUARE PREVIEW. Kids at the time were confused by the changes from SaGa Frontier to SaGa Frontier 2, and after buying LoM after the trial version, they were confused by the changes from Secret of Mana 3, so there must have been many kids who started playing Chrono Cross and Dueprism after playing the trial version of LoM. Also, if you had data from SaGa Frontier 2, you could get very strong weapons, and there was also data linking. In the remastered version, you can get them even if you don't have the data.
What is the main race of the story, the "Jewel Demon"?
Jumi are a race that lives with gems as their core. In other words, they are personified gems. It may be easier to understand if you think of them as a race that appears in Land of the Lustrous. If the core gem is damaged, they will weaken, and if it is shattered or stolen, they will die. However, if that is not the case, they are basically immortal and invulnerable. They basically act in pairs, with one playing the role of "princess" who heals her partner, and the other playing the role of "knight" who protects the princess.
What is "Jewel Thief Arc", one of the three major scenarios of LoM?
LoM is a free scenario RPG, and events occur when conditions are met in various places. While there are many scenarios that are completed in one episode, this is the longest event in LoM's consecutive events with a total of 10 scenarios. The story begins with meeting the Jumi's "Ruri" and "Shinjuhime", who you meet immediately after starting the game, and after a confrontation with the thief Sandra, who is after the Jumi's jewels, the fate of the Jumi race is revealed.
Jumi's Secret, A Little Spoilers
The Jumi race has long been targeted for their beautiful jewels, which are their core. However, the reason they were targeted was not only because of their beautiful jewels, but also because their tears had a very powerful healing power. However, because many of the Jumi were killed because of their tears, they eventually lost the ability to shed tears, perhaps to preserve their species. Having lost their healing tears, the Jumi could no longer continue fighting against opposing forces, and they abandoned their hometowns and scattered all over the place.
Introducing the Jumi who appear in the Jewel Thief Arc! !
"Ruri"
Lapis Lazuli Jumi became Princess Pearl's knight. Although he is generally silent and unsociable, when Princess Shinju is involved, he shows his rough and violent inner self. He has deep affection for those who become his companions, and has a strong sense of camaraderie with Princess Shinju and the protagonist. He is the other protagonist in the jewel thief arc, and depending on your choice, you can fight alongside the final boss of the arc, but if you do not, you will be sacrificed without realizing it.
Princess Shinju
Ruri's partner, who is centered around White Pearl. Perhaps because she was just born, she has a pure and innocent personality and is naive about the world. She calls Ruri "Ruri-kun" and adores her, and calls the protagonist "big brother" (or "big sister" in the case of a female protagonist). She can be recruited in certain scenarios, but although she has no combat ability, she is not completely useless. LoM's ally characters do not actively move, so everyone is basically just a decoration.
"Rubens"
A Jumi with Ruby as its core. She is a Jumi that you meet in the cliff town of Gato, but she does not actively try to get involved with anyone, and she even shows distrust for her fellow tribesmen Ruri and Shinjuhime. She has a sick lover and wants to do whatever it takes to save her... If you trigger the fourth scenario first and get Ruri or Shinjuhime as your companion, a conversation will be added. You can also meet her in the abyss after becoming a victim of the jewel thief. If you get Ruri or Shinjuhime as your companion, another conversation will be added.
"Emerald"
Jumi with an emerald as its core. A girl who has been studying magic in the magical city of Geo since long ago. Her older sister is already just a core, and since Jumi can no longer shed tears, she has effectively died. After meeting the protagonist and Ruri, they search for her sister's core together in the city, but she also falls into the hands of a jewel thief. In the game, she becomes a temporary companion and her status is set, but she does not actually fight together. After she is killed, you can meet her in the abyss as usual. She did not seem to be very pessimistic in the abyss.
Diana
Diamond Jumi. In the city of sparkle where the Jumis lived, she played the role of de facto leader. They were going to continue fighting against the opposing forces by using Jumi, the only one who could shed tears, as a human sacrifice. She turns to stone in the art warehouse in the magical city of Geo and is restored to her original form with the key collected by the protagonist, but as expected, she is killed by a jewel thief and can be met in the abyss.
"Hotaruhime"
A fluorite Jumi. She has a very kind personality, and after Jumi lost her ability to cry (i.e. her healing power), she was the only one who did not lose her healing power, so she was celebrated as Jade Stone Princess and became a symbolic figure of her race. However, as Jumi uses her healing power, her core is damaged and she eventually dies, so after the battle with the opposing forces intensifies, her burden also increases, and she is isolated and given life-prolonging measures by a person who is on the verge of death.
Lady Pearl
Jumi of the Black Pearl. A female Jumi who served as a knight for Princess Tamaishi. A silent and strict woman, her appearance is very similar to Princess Tamaishi. In fact, after being seriously injured due to certain circumstances, Princess Tamaishi created another personality for her to shed tears in place of Princess Tamaishi. Although it is treated as a split personality, it is quite ambiguous whether it is a completely different existence. If you choose Princess Tamaishi as your partner in the final episode, you will fight alongside the final boss. LoM's companion characters often don't behave as expected, so they are often just ornaments, but she is one of the best ornaments, and just by acting with her, the protagonist can use his special moves as much as he wants, which greatly reduces the difficulty of the game.
【LoM The Teardrop Crystal】Summary of Tamami
I've put together a summary of the Tamami that appear in LoM The Teardrop Crystal! LoM is known as a masterpiece, but the story is often not explained very well, and there are many ambiguous parts in the jewel thief arc and the setting. I don't know if they left room for players to think or if they couldn't compete with the capacity, but it seems that the story was cut down quite a bit in the jewel thief arc, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it will be depicted in the anime. The remastered version of LoM is available on various platforms, and it is easier to play with the encounter off function implemented, so it might be interesting to play along with the anime!
